10 Tips Before You Hire a Personal Trainer (FREE Guide)
It’s no secret that online personal training is on the rise! With COVID having shut down gyms globally, many people are turning to online trainers to help them reach their goals.
Below are some tips to consider before you hire a personal trainer or coach. Yes, even before signing up for a so-called “discovery” call.
Have you ever signed up for one of those? You’ll want to read a little about them & prepare yourself for what’s ahead. Luckily, we don’t do those here at The Fit O.G. LLC.
While I’d like to tell ya what we do here, let’s get to the point of this post first: How to determine if a personal trainer is right for you.
The 10 tips below were created after I (Coach David) was recently on the hunt for my own coach. I encourage you to download the FREE guide and use it on the next person you want to hire.
10 Tips to Consider Before You Hire a Personal Trainer (+ Free Guide)
Feel free to use this guide when determining if The Fit O.G. LLC is right for you.
1. What Credentials & Experience Do They Have?
One of the first things I look for in a trainer is their credentials and experience. You want to hire someone that at least has the knowledge required to help you.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the most clear piece of information for clients to understand. You’ve likely seen a string of initials on a trainers bio that look like “NASM-CPT”, “WLS”, “PN Level 1”, etc…
Those are their credentials. In my case, I am an NASM-CPT (National Academy of Sports Medicine – Certified Personal Trainer) You can see why we’d rather use initials!
NASM is one of the leading companies in fitness education & sports medicine. Like most certifying companies, they have a site available for you to check a trainer’s credentials which can be found here.
The amount of value you put on the trainer’s experience is up to you. Keep in mind that we all need to start somewhere. Often times new trainers will offer more value to prove their worth.
2. Do They Offer Personalized Programs?
So you found a trainer with 4 certifications listed, a ton of followers, and fun posts. Now what?
Great social media game doesn’t mean they’re the perfect trainer for you. Many of those influencers like to offer pre-built programs that work great, but aren’t personalized.
So what’s the problem?
They don’t focus on your specific goals, your strengths, or your struggles. They simply aren’t meant for all fitness levels & body types.
Personalized programs offer exactly what YOU need to reach your goals & successfully maintain them afterward.
Our specialty at The Fit O.G. LLC is personalized programs because we know the best transformations are made that way.
3. Progress Tracking is Crucial
You might think progress tracking is an obvious tool that trainers use to make sure their clients are having success. It’s true and you are right to think so.
Progress tracking is crucial to your success and their success too. It paints a clear picture of what is and is not working.
Trainers often track different metrics on different apps and use various methods to present this data to you. Below is a list of commonly tracked metrics you might find new or important.
- Weight
- BMI
- Body Measurements
- Progress Pictures
- Meal Tracking & Macros
- Fat & Lean Mass Percentages
- Exercise Progressions
- Sleep
- Other Habits
Don’t be afraid to ask how they track these or present the data.
4. Do Their Philosophy and Beliefs Resonate with You?
I don’t know about you, but I love when I can relate to someone on a deeper level. Especially when it comes to a personal trainer.
Obviously, they are going to be passionate about health & fitness. You want them to be. There should be more though, right?
Reflect on the causes that are important to you and look for coaches who believe in the same ideals.
Is it important that your trainer be a part of the LGBTQ community or is an ally sufficient? What about equal pay & human equality? Do they care about the environment? Are they vegan?
These are just some of the things that were important to me as a coach. I didn’t just want a trainer who ate healthily, I want a vegan trainer to help elevate my vegan lifestyle! I wanted inspiration & motivation from someone I could relate to.
5. Consultations VS “Discovery” Calls
Let’s be clear about one thing: Being an entrepreneur and self-employed means you are actively making the best of every opportunity that comes by. It’s more than acceptable and I have nothing against it.
It also means you can disguise your sales calls as “discovery” calls or “Free Fired Up Fitness FakeTime Calls”… see what I did there?
The point is, you should be careful what you sign up for. Even consultation calls have been known to dwell into being too salesy.
When these “discovery” calls have been pitched to me, they were offered as an opportunity to “find out if we are a good fit to work together.”
While there might be good intentions, too many trainers focus on pressured sales tactics instead of getting to know you.
What you want to find is a trainer that offers the next item on our list…
6. Are They Offering Value?
This is what every trainer and coach should be doing to help you even before you become a client. Tips, tricks, trials, and more!
If you find a coach you’re interested in & they have something free to offer, go for it! We want you to eat it all up, figuratively.
Trainers work hard on creating value for potential clients because we want you to see what we can do for you. Don’t be afraid to try out those free offers.
Doing so can give you insight into what it’s like working with them. Test the waters, if you will.
Here at The Fit O.G. LLC, I am working on adding value through these blog posts, free webinars, and free coaching sessions.
7. Did They Listen & Communicate Well
At this point, you should be getting an idea of what it’s like to work with them & perhaps you’ve even booked a consultation. Great!
Now you find yourself on a Zoom call with someone asking you a LOT of questions.
What goals do you have? What’s your WHY? What struggles have you had? What gets in your way?
During this time, or any interaction with them, pay close attention to how they respond to your answers. They should be listening carefully to your pains & struggles.
Even if they haven’t experienced it for themselves, they should be understanding of what you’re going through.
When they respond to your answers are they simply moving to the next question, or are they asking you to dig deeper & clarify? Do they repeat what you say to be sure they understand you?
Ask yourself these questions. Remember, the focus should be on YOU mostly.
8. What is Their Personality Like?
When I was thinking about writing on this topic, professionalism came to mind. Someone who I would consider professional would wear a suit and tie, not athletic attire and a hat.
In addition, I generally associate this term with how a person communicates and their personality traits. Not all trainers communicate in the same way.
I don’t use a megaphone for instance! Hahaha! Okay, that’s not what I meant by that, but I did decide to change this tip to personality instead.
Just like everyone else, all trainers are different. Some are formal and very serious trainers. Others prefer to be eccentric and laid back.
It doesn’t matter which you prefer, just make sure their personality works well with yours. If you don’t like high energy people, look for a calm trainer. They exist!
You can also take into consideration which hobbies and interests they have outside of fitness & health. You’ll find more you can relate with & talk about if you do.
9. Fine, I’ll Say It… Cost.
But I am not happy about it.
As I mentioned before, if you want the best results, you need personalized programming. On Demand and pre-built plans will not help you in the long run.
That said, you have to be ready to invest in a personal trainer or coach if you are ready for the extra help. Plain and simple.
Personalized programming can cost anywhere from $100-$1000+ PER MONTH depending on who you want to work with.
I’ll say it once more, you need to be prepared to invest.
The price range is big for several reasons. Experience, features or services, & even your personal goals can be a factor in price. Most online trainers will not display prices on their site for this reason.
If you think cost will get in the way, I recommend scheduling a consultation with 3-5 trainers to compare costs. It never hurts to shop.
Be upfront with each of them at the beginning though. Let them know you are shopping around & have other consultations lined up. They might offer a better deal or add in extras to get you in the door!
10. Like Them… Maybe Even Love Them
Hmmm… I suddenly felt like I was writing a headline for how to treat your pets! Haha.
Honestly, you should at least like your trainer enough to have constant conversations with them. There could be daily or weekly check-ins, progress checks, etc…
I recommend checking out their videos, hearing them speak, reading their posts, etc…These could all give you indications of what they are like to work with.
As trainers and coaches, we want to make a huge impact on you. We want to change your life, motivate, and inspire you to be healthy. This is much easier to do if we get along great!
Otherwise you could end up not reaching your goals and being out of lots of money too.
Download the Free Guide here:
As you can see, there are many things to consider before you hire a personal trainer. Even more that were not listed here.
In the meantime, do not forget to download your free guide today.
If you’re interested in booking a consultation, you can find more information here and I encourage you to bring your guide along too!